Against a backdrop of increasing international interest in how we value the economic benefits we derive from our natural environment, business leaders, policy makers and sustainability leaders from around the world will come together in Edinburgh in November for the inaugural World Forum on Natural Capital.

Since the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio last June, there has been a groundswell of private sector interest in the concept of natural capital accounting. As the first major global conference devoted to turning the emerging debate into action, the World Forum on Natural Capital aims to widen understanding of the implications for businesses and the risks of ignoring ‘invisible’ assets.

Delegates from throughout the world are expected to attend the event, which is supported by major business and environmental organisations including the United Nations Environment Programme; World Business Council for Sustainable Development; International Union for Conservation of Nature; TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) for Business Coalition; and The Wildlife Trusts. The event organiser is the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Steve Jobs once said: “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

The World Forum on Natural Capital aims to turn the debate into action. We’ve created a Sustainability Jargon Buster to open up the debate and get things moving.